The late-career offensive resurgence of Suzuki continued in 2019 as the catcher continues to make the most of his limited playing time. The 63 runs he drove in represented his highest total since the 2010 season, and the 17 homers were the second most of his career. He continues to hit for a solid average from the catching position, and is aging like a fine wine. He will be in the second year of his two-year deal with the World Champs and we should once again expect somewhere around 350 plate appearances with double-digit homers and a .270-ish batting average from him. We don't need him to play more than he does, because this version is productive enough for the position he plays. Even if he decides to start playing his age, these skills will age gracefully. The late-career power has to fade at some point, but when the ball is live, he has taken full advantage of it. Read Past Outlooks

ANALYSISMeanwhile, Martinez estimated that Yan Gomes would catch around 4-to-5 times per week as the main battery mate for the other three pitchers in the Nationals rotation. That division of workload seemingly implies that Suzuki will occupy the smaller side of the timeshare to begin the season, though Martinez's plans could change if Gomes declines further as a hitter. Suzuki's 105 wRC+ in 2019 was well above Gomes' mark (79), but the latter graded out better in terms of average pop time and framing, per Baseball Savant.

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K

Walk to strikeout ratio

BB Rate

The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.

K Rate

The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.

BABIP

Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.

On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.

SLG

Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.

OPS

On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

wOBA

Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.

Exit Velocity

The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.

Hard Hit Rate

A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.

Barrels/PA

The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.

Todd Zola offers some pointers for best ball formats and explains why J.T. Realmuto has been the only catcher he's prioritized drafting.

Past Fantasy Outlooks

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2018

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2006

After splitting catching duties with Tyler Flowers the past two years with the Braves, Suzuki signed with the Nationals where he'll serve as Yan Gomes' backup, likely playing considerably less than in recent seasons. Suzuki's tenure with Atlanta was productive, as his 116 wRC+ was the fourth best among catchers during that span. His defense remains decent, though the pitch-framing metrics are less kind to him. A typically-stellar 11.1 K% backboned his offensive production, yielding an average much higher than most catchers, along with double-digit homer power. Suzuki's counting stats will obviously suffer with fewer plate appearances along with likely hitting lower in the order than he did with Atlanta. That said, his average will keep him relevant in all formats, assuming you're set with power and run production elsewhere. Not to mention, he's one errant foul tip to Gomes away from more consistent playing time.

In just under half a full season's worth of at-bats, Suzuki set a career high in homers. The surge was largely a result of him crushing southpaws, smacking seven of his 19 homers versus southpaws in only 58 at-bats. For the year, Suzuki slashed .345/.415/.776 with a lefty on the hill. The scary part is it could have been better considering Suzuki shared playing time with Tyler Flowers plus the Braves faced left-handers the fourth fewest times in MLB. Entering 2018, both Suzuki and Flowers will be back, meaning Suzuki will likely again play a little less than half the time, more than the usual reserve but not as much as the starters. More importantly, Suzuki's power output will likely fall precipitously as his home-run spike was spurred by a 17.1 percent HR/FB, nearly three times his career mark. In addition, Suzuki's average is also ripe for a fall with the loss in power. Suzuki is worth drafting in all two-catcher formats, but don't pay for 2017's renaissance campaign.

Suzuki bounced back from a subpar 2015 season to have a decent year at the plate, hitting .258 with eight home runs and a .704 OPS. Although he never landed on the DL, Suzuki played just 106 games due to a variety of bumps and bruises along with a concerted effort from the Twins to give him rest. Suzuki makes good contact with few strikeouts, but he lacks power. He also doesn't add much on defense as he threw out just 19 percent of basestealers and he has typically had poor pitch-framing stats. Following an agreement to play for the Braves, the 33-year-old seems to be in line to be the backup for Tyler Flowers heading into 2017, although Anthony Recker could provide some competition for the position as well.

Suzuki's status as Minnesota's starting catcher is at risk after a poor season at the plate and with the Twins acquiring John Ryan Murphy. After hitting .309/.365/.396 in the first half of 2014, the Twins signed him to a two-year contract extension. His improvement at the plate ended up being a mirage as he's hit just .244/.301/.328 since the 2014 All-Star break. His poor hitting wasn't offset by his defense as he threw out just 15 percent of base stealers and was below average by advanced defensive metrics and pitch-framing stats. Suzuki does make good contact with few strikeouts, but he lacks any notable power. He may have a much smaller role with the Twins this season in the final year of his contract.

Suzuki had a surprising resurgence at the plate that resulted in a two-year contract extension as the team's everyday catcher with Joe Mauer moving to first base. Suzuki originally signed a one-year deal with many thinking he'd serve as a veteran bridge to young catcher Josmil Pinto. However, Pinto was sent to Triple-A early in the season and Suzuki got hot at the plate by hitting .309/.365/.396 in the first half of the season. Rather than trade a player hitting above his recent career marks, the Twins believed in his revitalization and cited a need for a veteran catcher with many younger pitchers on the staff by giving him the extension in July. It's not clear it was a wise decision, as Suzuki hit just .253/.313/.362 after the All Star break. His .728 OPS isn't unprecedented as he had similar offense performances six years ago, but his hot hitting was likely fueled by a career-high .315 BABIP. While Suzuki's defense drew raves from the Twins, he looked below average by advanced defensive metrics and his pitch-framing stats were poor. Suzuki does make good contact with few strikeouts, but don't count on a continued career resurgence at the dish.

The A's traded for Suzuki in late August after a rash of injuries to their catching corps. He played sparingly, but managed to mix in a couple of home runs for the A's after hitting only three in 252 at-bats for the Nationals. Suzuki made up for his typically low batting average by averaging 14 home runs from 2009-11, but he has hit just 11 total home runs over the last two years. The A's did not exercise their option on Suzuki, and he signed a one-year deal with the Twins in December to serve as a veteran bridge to young catcher Josmil Pinto.

Suzuki bottomed out in his final season in Oakland, hitting just .218 with one home run before getting dealt to the Nats just after the trade deadline. He looked more like his old barely-adequate self in Washington, hitting .267 with five homers in 43 games, but with Wilson Ramos set to be healthy Suzuki will likely be stuck in a backup role in 2013. With a number of teams looking for viable options behind the plate heading into the season, it is entirely possible that he will be on the move again at some point in the near future.

Suzuki's value is tied almost exclusively to your scoring format. In traditional 4x4 or 5x5 leagues, catchers that hit for 15 homers, 60 RBI and 60 runs hold some value in their counting stats alone; those in OPS-based leagues got killed again with Suzuki's poor .237/.301/.385 line over 460 at-bats. There have been no signs of growth after a somewhat promising 2009 season, and he seems to be settling in as a .240 hitter and not the .270 version that some had hoped for. He struggles against lefties and righties, home and away, so there's no platoon possibility for the A's to take advantage of or to use to reduce his playing time. His high price tag could lead to a trade elsewhere following the acquisition of Derek Norris in December.

Suzuki failed to play in at least 145 games last season for the first time since becoming a lineup regular, but still managed 131 games behind the plate as the A's heavily-used catcher. He gave back all the promising power gains he showed in 2009, however, shedding 60 points in slugging and posting a career-low (.366) mark in the process. Any thoughts of it being a side effect of a too-quick return from an early-season oblique injury can be dismissed with his terrible final two months (.206 average, no homers, 24 RBI his final 185 at-bats). His road performance (.220/.270/.331) was far worse than his home numbers, making it tough to find anything positive from 2010.

For the second straight season, Suzuki appeared in at least 147 games as the A's primary catcher. He drew just 28 walks in 570 at-bats, leading to a poor .313 OBP in what otherwise was a pretty decent year from a catcher. His 37 doubles and 15 homers show good potential and he'll be just 26 years old this season so there's still some upside here. The A's haven't made any indication that they are interested in reducing Suzuki's workload, so he should be in line for at least 140 games and 550 at-bats again in 2010.

Suzuki played often as the A's regular behind the plate, appearing in 148 games. He'll rack up enough counting stats given his heavy workload to be worth a bit as your second catcher, but his modest power doesn't project as being worthy of your No. 1 spot behind the plate.

Suzuki emerged as the A's everyday catcher following the trade of Jason Kendall after spending just half a season at Triple-A Sacramento. His struggles against righties (.252/.319/.327 at Triple-A) will result in some less-than-stellar numbers for him in the majors the next year or two. There's not a lot of projectable power here, making him a poor option for those in leagues that use OBP and SLG as scoring categories.

After putting up an .856 OPS in the first half at Double-A Midland, Suzuki tailed off in July, hitting just .215. He's got excellent strike zone judgement and punished the lefties in the Texas League to the tune of a 1.054 OPS. His glovework behind the plate improved as well. There's a lot to like about the 23-year-old catcher. If his gap power continues to develop as he moves up the chain, he could be an offensive force behind the plate. He'll start the season at Triple-A and figures to push for a starting job by 2008.

Suzuki, a 2004 draft pick, has shown a good eye at the plate in his brief pro career. He doesn't have a ton of power, though, and given how often catcher bats stagnate as they advance, it's debatable if he'll hit enough to be a major league regular.